Environmental lawyer and executive director of the Science Environmental Health Network Carolyn Raffensperger lays out the history of the Precautionary Principle and portrays how it can be used as an effective tool in policymaking to protect the public health, environment and future generations. She maintains that it is “the beginning of an essential transformation in the way we relate both to the Earth and to the things we invent.”

This speech was given at the 2001 Bioneers National Conference and is featured on the Ecological Medicine, Vol. 1 and Environmental Justice, Vol. 1 Collections.

Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a fertile hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges.

To experience talks like this, please join us at the Bioneers National Conference each October, and regional Bioneers Resilient Community Network gatherings held nationwide throughout the year.

For more information on Bioneers, please visit http://www.bioneers.org and stay in touch via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Bioneers.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/bioneers).